Well I hope I was right, and you will end up with a good spare machine.
You will probably need to realign the PB switching point when you put it back together. There's usually enough play in the mounting to change the relation of the PG pickup to the head position.
I know what you mean though about losing your parts unit. I bought a spare turntable back in Feb after looking for one for over a year, intending for it to be a parts unit should my main TT fail, like a DD motor or somesuch failure of a non-available part. Got this "parts unit" going so well now, I've been using it for my daily player since. Retired the original one I bought new in 1979 for a while, give it a rest!